Andrea Pirlo has announced he will retire from professional football when his contract at New York City FC expires in December.
The former AC Milan, Juventus and Italy star has won six Serie A titles and two Champions Leagues at club level and played a crucial role as the national team lifted the 2006 World Cup in a successful career.
However, Pirlo has played just 15 of NYCFC’s 32 MLS games this season and, with the 38-year-old out of contract after December 31, he says the time has come to bring an end to his playing days.
“You realise that the time has come,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “Every day you have physical problems, you cannot train as you want because you always have some problem.
“At 38, it’s just right to give young players room. I’m not angry. Instead, I will give a hand to team-mates and to the coach.”
There have been suggestions Pirlo could reunite with former coach Antonio Conte at Chelsea to work as his assistant, but he insists he has not made a decision on what his future hold.
